SERIE A
LUKAKU, SMALLING FUME OVER ‘BLACK FRIDAY’ FRONT PAGE
Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling on Thursday slammed a renowned Italian sports daily as “dumb” and “insensitive” after it used “Black Friday” in a front page headline about them meeting for the first time in Serie A.
Former Manchester United team mates Smalling and Lukaku face off at the San Siro on Friday as Inter Milan look to maintain top spot in Serie A, prompting the Rome-based Corriere dello Sport to publish a headline that has attracted widespread condemnation.
“Instead of focusing on a battle between two teams… Corriere dello Sport comes with the dumbest of headlines I have ever seen in my career,” Lukaku said in a message on Twitter.
“You guys keep fuelling the negativity and the racism issue.”
Lukaku and Smalling have both taken Serie A by storm since arriving in the summer, with the Belgian striker bagging 10 goals in 14 appearances for title hopefuls Inter and England international Smalling becoming an instant fan favourite in the Italian capital.
“It is important that I acknowledge that what occurred this morning was wrong and highly insensitive,” wrote Smalling on Twitter.
“I hope the editors involved in running this headline take responsibility and understand the power they possess through words, and the impact those words have.”
Both Roma and AC Milan announced on Thursday evening that they would be banning the Corriere dello Sport until the end of 2019 over the headline.
“Our players will not carry out any media activities with the newspaper during this period,” the two clubs said in a joint statement.
They added that the ban was short because “the actual newspaper article associated with the ‘Black Friday’ headline did portray an anti-racist message”.
The article praised the two players for taking “strong positions against racism and are the symbols of the two clubs”, but Roma tweeted “not a single soul” would think the headline a good idea.
“The intention of the newspaper article was actually positive but this headline has totally overshadowed the anti-racist message contained within the story,” Roma’s chief strategy officer Paul Rogers told AFP.
“Unfortunately, as we’ve seen on social media, more people will see that ill-judged headline on the front page than read the actual article and it creates new issues at a time when we are all trying to tackle the issue of racism in Italian football.”
The headline cause uproar in a country where a number of black players have been targeted with racist abuse.
Mario Balotelli was racially abused by Hellas Verona fans last month, while AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie was also targeted by Verona supporters and Lukaku was himself abused at Cagliari, also serial offenders.
Lukaku’s club Inter Milan said earlier: “football is passion, culture and brotherhood. We are and will always be against all forms of discrimination.”
The Corriere dello Sport was unrepentant, saying the headline was “only the praise of difference, the pride of difference, the magnificent wealth of difference”.
“White, black, yellow. Denying difference is the typical macroscopic stumbling block of anti-racism racism,” it said in an editorial.
“An innocent headline… is transformed into poison by those who have poison inside.”
-AFP
Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has opened up on the breakdown of his relationship with SSC Napoli, revealing how a controversial social media post, racial abuse and strained transfer dealings ultimately ended his time in Naples.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Osimhen described the turning point as a TikTok video posted by Napoli in September 2023 that appeared to mock him for missing a penalty.
“After Napoli posted that video on TikTok, something broke forever,” he said.
The video showed Osimhen appealing for a penalty with a squeaky, sped-up voice dubbed over the footage, followed by the clip of his missed spot kick. Although the post was quickly deleted after his representatives labelled it offensive and reportedly considered legal action, the damage, according to the striker, had already been done.
Osimhen said the incident triggered a wave of toxic online reactions, including racist insults directed at him. He also recounted how some supporters confronted him at his residence, demanding explanations over the controversy.
For the 2023 African Footballer of the Year, the episode marked a decisive rupture in trust.
“I’m not a puppet,” he said, describing a period in which he felt humiliated and sidelined despite his contributions to the club.
Beyond the social media row, Osimhen suggested that tensions over his future compounded the fallout. He indicated that there had been an understanding with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis regarding a potential departure in a future transfer window, but he felt the club did not honour that understanding.
“They treated me like a dog,” he said, adding that decisions were being made about his career without what he considered basic respect.
By late summer 2024, relations had deteriorated sharply. Reports indicated that Napoli excluded him from their Serie A squad list amid transfer uncertainty. The impasse eventually led to a season-long loan move to Galatasaray, bringing the standoff to a temporary close.
Osimhen was instrumental in Napoli’s historic 2022–23 Serie A title triumph, finishing as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals and becoming one of the defining figures of that championship campaign.
His departure, therefore, marked a dramatic reversal — from talismanic hero to sidelined star.
Now rebuilding his career in Turkey, Osimhen said his decision to speak publicly was driven by a desire to reclaim his narrative.
He explained that he had remained silent for months out of respect for Napoli supporters, but felt compelled to address the circumstances that led to his exit.
The episode underscores how a combination of social media missteps, fan reaction and unresolved transfer negotiations can unravel even the most successful partnerships in modern football.
For Osimhen, a relationship that once delivered a Scudetto ended not with celebration, but with controversy.
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Croatia captain Luka Modric, who left Real Madrid after 13 years at the LaLiga club, has completed his move to AC Milan on a one-year deal with an option to extend until June 2027, the Serie A side said on Monday.
The midfielder’s arrival was confirmed by newly-appointed Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri earlier this month.
“Very happy to be here to start a new chapter in my career,” said Modric, who turns 40 in September, in an Instagram video shared by Milan.
Milan said Modric will wear the number 14 shirt, which he previously wore during his four years at English side Tottenham Hotspur to honour Dutch great Johan Cruyff.
“It’s an immense honour for them to compare me to (Cruyff)… I wore the no. 14 at Tottenham in honour of him, and because the no. 10 wasn’t available,” Modric had said after winning the Ballon d’Or award in 2018.
Modric, regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, announced in May that he would leave Real after the Club World Cup. He has made 597 appearances for the Spanish club, winning 28 trophies including four LaLiga and six Champions League titles.
He played his last game for Real on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 4-0 loss to Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals.
“It’s a bitter end… he’s a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He’ll be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today,” Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said after the match.
Modric, considered Croatia’s greatest player of all time, has represented the country a record 188 times, scoring 28 goals. He won the Golden Ball at World Cup 2018, where he led Croatia to the final for the first time.
He won the Ballon d’Or in December that year, becoming the first player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the prestigious annual award since 2007.
Modric’s arrival reinforces a Milan midfield that also features Youssouf Fofana, Yunus Musah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, with Samuele Ricci joining from Torino earlier this month.
Milan, who failed to qualify for a European competition after finishing eighth in the Italian top-flight league last season, begin their Serie A campaign against newly-promoted Cremonese on August 23.
-Reuters
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Pope Leo XIV welcomed Italy’s newly crowned Serie A champions Napoli to the Vatican on Tuesday, joking about his own soccer allegiances.
Napoli won their fourth “Scudetto” on Friday with a 2-0 home victory over Cagliari, edging out Inter Milan by one point in a nail-biting end to the season.
The team, captained by Italian international Giovanni Di Lorenzo, arrived for their papal audience a day after a triumphant open-top bus parade through central Naples.
“The press says I am an AS Roma fan, but you are welcome! This is what the press says. Not everything you read in the press is true,” the pope said, according to a transcript.
Leo, the first pope to come from the U.S., follows and practices sports, including tennis. People who know him have described him to the media as an AS Roma supporter.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis gave him a blue Napoli jersey signed by players, bearing the number 10 and his name in Italian, “Papa Leone XIV”.
“You are a number 10, so you are a great striker”, De Laurentiis said. Leo replied with a chuckle and a simple “thank you”.
Coach Antonio Conte, whom De Laurentiis introduced as “deeply Catholic”, knelt down and kissed the pope’s hand, before Leo told him he had seen him many times on TV.
In a short speech, the pontiff stressed the importance of team spirit and collaboration, and sport’s educational value, especially for young people.
Winning comes “at the end of a long journey, where what matters the most is not a one-time exploit or the extraordinary performance of one champion”, he said.
“The championship is won by the team, and when I say ‘team’ I mean the players, the coach with the whole squad, and the club,” he added.
Leo ended his remarks giving his blessings to players and club officials, and offering congratulations, also on behalf of his personal cook.
“She is from Naples and she says: best wishes! She would like to be here too, Mrs Rosa, (she is) a big fan”, the pope said.
-Reuters
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